El Niño ends! La Niña on the way next

Big changes are on the way for global weather patterns as El Niño officially comes to an end.

El Niño, a climate pattern marked by warmer-than-average temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean, has been in place since early summer 2023. This nearly year-long pattern is finally loosening its grip on the weather pattern, and big changes are on the way.

This past year's El Niño was one of the strongest on record and helped boost temperatures during the hottest year on record. This El Niño was so strong that it reached rare "super El Niño" territory. From November to January, water temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean were 2 degrees Celsius warmer than average, a threshold that has only been reached six times before.

With El Niño ending, another big pattern shift is looking more likely. For now, neither La Niña nor El Niño are present, and the neutral phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has begun, according to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. But this will change as La Niña is expected to build through the summer and will likely be in place by September during the peak of hurricane season.

La Niña tends to reduce the strength and prevalence of wind shear across the Atlantic Ocean. This makes for a friendlier environment for tropical storms and hurricanes to form. Combine this with well-above-average ocean temperatures and this year's Atlantic Hurricane Season is predicted to be above-average. Weather & Radar's expert meteorologists will keep you posted. Check out our Breakfast Brief every morning for the latest tropical updates.